The present invention relates generally to bags for receiving and containing merchandise, and more particularly to plastic bags that are provided with a handle to allow customers to carry the bag more easily.
It is now common practice to manufacture bags from a thin transparent material, such as polyethylene or a similar heat-sensitive plastic, and to supply such bags to producers of a wide variety of consumer merchandise (e.g., diapers) who then load the bags with such merchandise and provide the filled bags to retail outlets for sale to consumers. These filled bags are frequently stacked together, such as along aisles located in the retail outlet, where they can be seen by consumers, and when the consumer decides to buy the product, the bag is lifted from the stack and carried away. When the merchandise contained in the bag is heavy and/or bulky, the bags are preferably made with some type of handle that will assist the consumer in carrying the bag.
Plastic bags with handles take a variety of forms and one such bag is disclosed in Baines U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,705 and includes a handle that is formed as a separate piece of plastic which is initially disposed within the gusset of the bag and sealed to the walls of the bag to provide a bag that is capable of withstanding heavy loads while at the same time presenting a neat appearance.
Another typical plastic bag with a handle is disclosed in Peppiatt U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,269, and this bag includes a handle that is either formed from the same piece of plastic material as the bag shell, or from a separate piece of material that is heat sealed at the top wall of the bag. In either case, the handle piece is a relatively large flap that projects outwardly from the top wall of the bag and this flap is formed with an opening through which the consumer inserts his or her hand when carrying the bag. This type of handle bag has the advantage of permitting the handle to serve as a "billboard" in that advertising and informational text and illustrations can be presented on the handle so as to catch the eye of and, hopefully, attract passing consumers. However, the aesthetic appeal of such billboard handles, and the continuity of the textural material and illustrations presented thereon, are adversely affected by the relatively large hand-receiving opening that is located in the middle of the handle flap.
Plastic bags of this general type may also be provided with some arrangement to assist the consumer in opening the bag to remove the contents therefrom. In most cases, the plastic bags are filled with merchandise and then completely sealed by the manufacturer to protect such merchandise, and the consumer often encounters some difficulty in penetrating the bags to remove its contents. There are a number of known bags which include some type of construction to facilitate opening the bag, such as a perforation extending along the top surface of the gusset of the bag as disclosed in Peppiatt U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,203, or a combination of tabs and perforations that allow the consumer to grasp the tab and pull away a portion of the bag as disclosed, for example, in Muchenfuhs U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,286 and 4,934,535 and Chalin U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,735. It is also known to provide plastic bags with perforations that permit the handle portion of the bag to partially separate from the bag so that the handle can be more easily grasped, as disclosed, for example, in Stanley U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,421 and Korn U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,470.